The historian in me: A conversation with U.S. Army veteran and ASU Faculty Associate David Corlett
Meet David Corlett, a U.S. Army veteran and faculty associate teaching courses in ASU’s College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. In this veteran spotlight, Corlett shares his experiences, from ROTC at Gonzaga University to deployments in Haiti, and how his love for history led him to teach at prestigious universities where he’s educating a new generation of leaders.
Corlett’s journey to the U.S. Army: “ROTC was kind of a second home for me.”
In 1990, David Corlett’s path to the U.S. Army began with a scholarship in a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program at Gonzaga University where he completed his undergraduate degree in history in 1994.
While at Gonzaga, Corlett found the relationship between the ROTC program and Gonzaga’s faith-based values fascinating.
“The values that were instilled in us by the university and the Jesuit brand of education are about cultural knowledge, cultural understanding and a broad world view about ethics and philosophy,” Corlett said.
He reminisced about carrying fake M16s, known as “rubber ducks” on field training exercises during his time in the program.
“It’s a normal ROTC program, just like at ASU and elsewhere, where you're learning leadership and military strategy, and a lot of it is facilitated through using small unit tactics,” he said.
After graduating from Gonzaga, Corlett was commissioned out of the university as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He went through basic training at Fort Knox in Kentucky before being assigned to a light unit, the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fort Polk, Louisiana. There, he was assigned as a platoon leader, a role in which he spent most of his time with infantry soldiers.
“I trained with 11 bravos and 11 hotels, those are TOW missile guys as well,” Corlett said. “And then with 19 deltas, who are cavalry scouts. Then, I was the executive officer for the C troop, Comanche troop, first squadron, second ACR (Armored Cavalry Regiment), and then finished my active duty time as the adjutant for the first squadron.”
He added that TOW stands for tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided — a highly effective anti-tank guided missile system used by infantry, helicopters and armored vehicles to destroy enemy tanks and fortified targets.
Deployment to Haiti: “A transformational event.”
During his time on active duty, Corlett went on several domestic and continental deployments. He was a part of the U.S. intervention in Haiti from 1994 to 1996, where he was deployed for nearly a full calendar year in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
“We were there to help support the restoration of President Aristeed, and then in the elections of a new president and government,” Corlett said.
While serving in Haiti, Corlett believes some struggled with being deployed far from their loved ones.
“When the tragic genocide in Rwanda happened in 1994, we were actually on alert for deployment, and then the U.S. decided not to intervene,” Corlett said. “So, we were well-equipped for that sort of mission. That probably built a little bit of resentment on the part of some of the people involved, and I imagine that happens in just about any sort of deployment where you get tired of it — you want to go home.”
Corlett believes that feelings of anguish when away from home can be wrongfully charged toward others. However, he says that this didn’t ruin his experience.
“You want to get back to your life. And so your anger, your homesickness, is displaced onto the people you're trying to help, and that's really unfortunate,” Corlett said. “But in the long run, I still think we're glad we did it. I will say it was a transformational event.”
Life after deployment: “I’ve always wanted to be a history teacher.”
After his stint in Haiti, Corlett returned to the U.S. where he spent five-and-a-half years in the Army Reserves in Richmond, Virginia. There, he was in two training divisions where he helped other units train and prepare for deployment. Then, he returned to civilian life.
For Corlett, integration back to normalcy came with challenges.
“Oh boy, I had to learn how to stop swearing,” Corlett said. “The profession has its own language, and ours was colorful, to say the least.”
When it came to transitioning to civilian life, Corlett believes that the country as a whole and academic organizations “have done a better job of that in the last 20 years than previously.”
“I won't say that people didn't care, but it's just that people didn't take notice of that. There weren't as many programs and assists. When I left, we were supposed to go through the transition briefings and training and all of that. I skipped it,” he said.
When Corlett left the U.S. Army, he wasn’t aware of the transition support options that existed. Now, Corlett credits organizations that assist veterans in integrating back into the civilian world.
“You have organizations out there like the American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) that I've only joined in the last five years. I didn’t know about them, so I didn't have communities like that to work with,” Corlett said. “Instead, what I did was find a new community, and new connections in my graduate school and degree program. The transition for me was very abrupt and kind of unsatisfying. I'm really glad to see that's changed a lot and that universities are playing a big role in social reintegration.”
After leaving active duty, he returned to school to pursue a master’s degree in history.
“I've always wanted to be a history teacher. I can honestly say that my sixth-grade yearbook says I wanted to be a history teacher,” Corlett said. “I wanted to be a college professor and so I started officially teaching my own classes 25 years ago this year. I've taught at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, where I did my graduate work. I stayed on there as an assistant director and then later became director of an institute devoted to teaching museum studies and public history.”
Corlett applied his military teaching habits to the classroom.
“Much like in the army, I believe in teaching at a location and the hands-on, practical side of the discipline of history,” Corlett said. “From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., once a week, I would take my students in a 15-passenger van to visit museums, historic sites and archeology digs around Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland to teach on-site.”
Corlett remained at the College of William and Mary until he came to ASU in 2016 — a transition he called “seamless.” He took a staff position in a career exploration program helping students evaluate their career paths and personal interests. Corlett kept his interests in mind too, and went back to his roots.
“I found my way back to the interdisciplinary studies and the leadership programs that were more in alignment with my professional interests in history and leadership,” he said, “In 2023, I took a full-time position with the University of Virginia, where I now teach history classes again.”
Joy in the simple things
Today, Corlett remains affiliated with ASU by teaching project management classes for the School of Applied Professional Studies in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. A father of three, he resides in Fountain Hills, a suburban community in the Phoenix metro area. Corlett and his family are heavily involved in the local community, and in his spare time, he enjoys going to the local museum and walking his dog.
“I walk my dog every day for five miles and he enjoys that a lot,” Corlett said. “I also do genealogy for my family. I've been on the board of our town's Leadership Academy, so I help develop and run a program for that each year.”
Corlett spoke extensively about the genealogy work he does for his family. He traced his family's roots back to the 1700s. When asked what prompted his interest in genealogy, he kept his answer simple.
“That’s part of the historian in me.”
Corlett continues to share his love for history and career development at ASU and the University of Virginia, continuing to give his students — veteran and non-veteran alike, something to strive for.